Embrace life -- both the sweet days and the bitter...embrace the joy and the sadness...the successes and the defeats -- for all of these things, both good and bad, have made you who you are.

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Not All Conservatives Are Bad - Even If It Sometimes Seem Like They Are

I have a friend who is gay, out, and proud...he is also a conservative Republican. While that may seem ironic and contradictory to many...I can somewhat understand how a gay man could be a conservative Republican. Well at least I used to...I used to be Republican and even defended the President on many issues. Now however, I sing a different tune. Just like I evolve as a person in my own self, my political beliefs changed over time as well.

One of my best friends works for the Log Cabin Republicans doing canvassing for them in an effort to pass pro-gay legislation. I have some personal knowledge of out gay people who also find a place within the Republican party. I also know that their loyalty to the Republican way of thinking goes beyond the simple "gay" question. There are other factors to consider...i.e...national security, foreign policy, fiscal responsibility, healthcare, education..etc...political affiliation is not made or broken on the gay issue. For many it is...for some it is not.

But I digress. This friend I have that I referenced in the first sentence recently made some comments that shocked and dismayed me. We were discussing the current situation in the middle east with Israel and Hezbollah and just the situation with "Terror" in general.

He was saying something than just looked at all of us and said "I think we should just take a bomb and blast them all off the face of the earth. Every last Arab! I don't mind them searching and detaining every Arab or Muslim at an airport!" He went on and on speaking with such tone and language. What shocked me was that he was absolutely serious.

I told that he was speaking with such a broad stroke of racism and generalizations and stereotypes it was coming off as pure ignorance. I do not think I could ever advocate the destruction of an entire group of people. I think such advocates need only look at history to see the error of that way of thinking.

I would not necessarily describe myself as Pro Arab or Pro Israeli. I am Pro Peace more than anything. I think Israel has the right to defend itself against a terrorist organization that attacks its sovereign soil. But I look beyond the actual violence to the suffering of the people. People have suffered on both sides..both Israeli and Arab. This dispute goes far back before the State of Israel was created in 1948 and the war for Israeli Independence was ended with cease fires in 1949. It is a dispute based on religious grounds that has passions on both sides ignited.

So my friend just responded by stating that he did not care how it sounded but he would be ok with it anyway. Sometimes it seems that my conservative friends find it easier to make those comments. I don't understand how such ideas can come forth from him. I wonder what he thinks about those conservatives of the religious right who basically espouse the same beliefs about gays.

What would he think of do if the religious right started making comments that every gay person should be eliminated. Oh wait...many of them already have...

Like I said...not all conservatives are bad..even if it sometimes seems like they are...and for that matter..not all Arabs or Muslims are bad...all situations should be viewed with both sides in mind...this does not mean a person is anti american or weak on national security...it simply means they are informed...

3 Comments:

Because I have so many straight friends, and I live in Houston, TX, where Bush is portrayed to be a God (please, what an ass...oops, that was my opinion), I have MANY conservative friends. I feel it is my duty as a gay man to have the occasional heated, but healthy deabate about gay rights with them.. Though I have not won ALL of them over, I have managed to sway a few...to think my way, not to swing my way in the sack (well, that is another story for another time...lol). I agree with you that we all have our own views, and we should definitly listen and HEAR both sides before making judgements, but over-all, the Republican stand just seems too odd to me. It is one that I have not and will probably never fully understand nor support...but once again, just my ability to have my own beliefs, like all others.

I think Israel has the right to defend itself against a terrorist organization that attacks its sovereign soil.

You write this....and you write many interesting things. Think for a moment, how on earth do you think Israel got this "sovereign soil," you think they have the right to defend? I just want some big guy to grab a porsche (okay, a Jag is preferable) and tell the world...that it belongs to me....yup...I'll defend it to the death...but does that really make it mine....or right? Whole issue sucks.

About Me

I am a 31 year old guy originally from Dallas, TX. I moved to Atlanta in September 2005 and now live back in Dallas...yes I move a lot. All around good guy just sharing my thoughts with the rest of the world.